Reader submitted editorial: Welcome to the State of The City of New York

A fact has become clear to me: The State of New York no longer exists. What we have today is a polity that is, in effect, the City of New York and its possessions.

The passage of the “SAFE” Act is a clear message to the residents of the possessions of the City of New York that our interests and lifestyle are no longer relevant to the politicians of the State of New York. The passage of this bill is the legislative equivalent of rape. It was passed suddenly and without our consent. Our interests and concerns, as well as our rights, were secondary to the whims and desires of the City of New York.

I am sure that there are state-level politicians who are absolutely befuddled by the fact that they are required to vote on farm issues since they have never seen a farm in the Bronx. I would not be surprised if the legislature of the State of the City of New York voted for a car tax that required New Yorkers to pay 100% of the value of their automobile each year since, in reality, a car is a luxury. You can always take the subway or a bus to wherever your going, after all. The cultural gap between the City and the State of New York is as vast as the gap between Washington, D.C., and America.

In a perfect world, the residents of the State of New York would have the right, and ability, to divorce themselves from the political overreaching of the City of New York. In the real world, we are stuck with its mandates and its world-view. I have had a recurring dream: I stand at the Rockland County line with a huge saw. I cut, and I cut. Eventually, NYC and Long Island are cut free and I push them out to sea. I wish them good luck in their journeys, but I do not miss them.

Back in the land of the awake, we have to deal with the costs of this NYC control to the people of the possessions of the City of New York. Unfunded mandates, regulations and laws, passed to solve NYC and NYC suburban county problems, but having statewide effect and statewide costs, have built upon and compounded on themselves. These costs are bringing our local governments to the brink of bankruptcy. The State Senate is controlled now by the politicians of the City of New York, regardless of the fig leaf of a few Democrats caucusing with the Republicans to form a “Republican” majority. The situation will continue to worsen and the costs to rise.

I can dream of the counties of Western New York declaring their separation and forming their own polity to free themselves from the tyranny of the City of New York, but this will not happen. It would create a new entity that would potentially result in a new state that would bring with it two new U.S. Senators who would inevitably be Republican. The City of New York would never stomach that, let alone the party of which it is a wholly owned subsidiary.

Alternatively, perhaps the border counties, and their neighbors, could petition Pennsylvania for admission to the Commonwealth. That will not be allowed for very much the same reason. It would tip the balance of power in Pennsylvania in favor of the Republicans. That would never be allowed.

What I suspect will continue to happen, though, is that former citizens of what was, once, the Empire State will continue to make their homes in Free States in the South and West of the United States of America in increasing numbers as the oppression of the City of New York continues. With lower taxes, and better employment prospects than are available in the possessions of the City of New York, it is a no-brainer to flee. Good luck paying your ever-increasing bills with an ever-increasing out-migration of taxpayers, State of the City of New York.

There was no Democratic process about it. It was a knee jerk, political posturing, screw job heaped upon law abiding citizens. The whole thing needs to be tossed onto the scrap heap. Absolutely none of it affects criminals, except for the good people it turned into criminals with the stroke of the ultimate assault weapon, the pen.

It's long past time to treat the NYC metropolitan area as a district. Would we need state income taxes? Would we need property taxes if we could rely on sales tax revenue kept locally? Could the Thruway be free outside the District of NYC? Imagine the possibilities without being harnessed to economics of the Big Apple!

i have moved from this state of new york three times,lived in texas,florida and north carolina.i have come back each time because of my roots,you know,family and i love the snow of winter.however the government has made this a nanny state with taxes too high for a person considering retirement.
now if i could just sell my house for what the tax collector says it's worth i'll be doing good.
i won't turn the lights off as i won't be the last one out.
in a sense,the emperor is creating jobs as i will hire a few contractors to fix up loose ends of painting and landscaping.
and maybe get bontranger in here to auction my physical assets.
it'll be sad to leave my home again,however i'm sure i'll be glad once i get down the road..
with this declaration,i hope the powers that be don't find me to have a mental illness and come take my guns,knives,baseball bats,crowbars,screwdrivers or any other implement they feel is dangerous.this will be new york's next power.disagree with the laws they make overnight,and they will call you mentally unstable,Wham,you are now a ward of the state.... good luck people,i will send emperor a post card.

I appreciate your sensitivity to the use of the term "rape". Thankfully, most people have no comprehension of what the act of rape actually does to a victim psychologically and emotionally. I say "thankfully" because for one to truly "get it" one has to have been involved directly with the aftermath, as the victim, or one who knows and cares about them.

But, I used the term appropriately in my piece. While the passage of the bill was done in a technically legal manner, the clear objective was to force upon the people of this state a law without any chance for the people to let their voices be heard.

The passage of the law violated the spirit of the law while cynically using the law to facilitate its passage. The "emergency" provision that the mayor, I mean governor, signed to enable this laws passage was inappropriate and abusive of his powers and the rights of the people.

If the bill had been about a restriction on abortion or the right of free speech, and it had been passed in the manner this bill was passed, I suspect that right now the safest place for any of these politicians would be a fact finding mission to Somalia.

Ahhh...music to my ears. Not long now before people take steps against the oppression. Pretty tired of the boot on my neck. They are not doing what we expected of them when we put them in office. Why should we do what is expected of us. Just say no people. Im unemployed, because NYS outsourced my job overseas, yet they had the audacity to send me a bill saying i owe 1300 in state income tax..... I wrote "NO" in a large font across the bill and mailed it back. Oh no! They are going to lien my house! Thats ok, no one is buying houses in ny anyway. They are going to garnish my wages.....lol...... What wages? They give me nothing, so they get nothing. When more people learn to say no, things will improve, however not until then. They cant put us all in jail. . . .there isnt room.
Here try this on for size. Someone i know was arrested for numerous petty charges,none violent, and none infringing the liberty or happiness of anyone else, all charges were brought by the "state of NY". he was kept in jail for 9 days. After everything was said and done he paid a 250 dollar fine, with a 50 dollar surcharge. For a total of 300 dollars.
Average cost per day to house a prisoner 129.04 x 9 days = $1161.36
You all can do math..this happens 100000 times a week in this state.

The following is a full page ad appearing in INC. magazine, Feb. 2013 issue:

THIS IS NO PLACE TO DREAM SMALL

In New York State, a business can grow
as big as anyone can possibly imagine.

This is a place with a whole
new approach to business development.
With the fastest growing sector in the U.S.,
one of the best educated workforces in America,
and over $1 billion in incentives and tax breaks.
Its not surprising that our economy launched over
50,000 new businesses last year alone.

No matter who you are, or what you dream of becoming,
remember this:
No one ever came here to take a back seat,
play second fiddle,
or make it small.
This is New York State.

Mike, If we had the levels of taxation and regulation that a state like Virginia or Ohio has NYS would be absolutely booming.

As it is, they have to bribe middle to large businesses to come to, or stay, here in NY with dispensations from taxes and other goodies. Without these bribes, NY is just too expensive to operate in compared to other states.

Small businesses are started by people with high levels of drive who are already here and want to stay where they are. Over half of these small businesses shutter their doors in the first twelve months. Of the remainder, half will not make the two year mark. Should they survive and grow larger they will have to look at costs (which increase with the more employees you have), and if they are not in the service sector, it may make sense to flee to a lower cost state. That is why there are so few manufacturing jobs here.

As long as we are controlled by NYC none of this can change. The handing out of bribes is what makes these politicians so powerful and gets them contributions, legal and illegal. The reason our state and federal tax codes are so convoluted is because they hold the bribes of countless generations of politicians.

Simply lowering tax and regulatory costs to a reasonable level would lessen the power of the politicians and they don't seem to be interested in it...

We are already the highest taxed state in the union, now add legislation that has passed or is currently under consideration JUST in the last MONTH....
1.) most oppressive gun control laws largely restricting law abiding citizens
2.) subsidizing college educations for illegal immigrants http://www.nydreamact.org/
3.) changes to existing abortion laws that include removing any remaining parental notification, allowing late term abortions, allowing "non-doctors" to perform abortions. http://www.nysrighttolife.org/reproductive-health-act
Someone needs to make a video called "Libs gone Wild". Not too many reason left to stay in New York.